1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to valve housings for use with cartridge type faucet valves, and, more particularly, to valve housings for use with cartridge type faucet valves including disc-type valve cartridges capable of axial adjustment of the discs independent of the valve housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, the standard cartridge faucet type valve involves two separate yet intimately connected assemblies. The first of these assemblies is the valve housing used to convey the water flow from the main water source to the desired sink or basin. The second of these assemblies is the valve cartridge used to throttle the water flow passing through the valve housing so as to provide the user with some degree of control over the water flow.
While these two assemblies are usually constructed separately to what are considered to be mutually acceptable standards of tolerances, they are later joined together into a single working unit where discrepancies in such tolerances can easily produce a defective total unit. The effects of such a defective unit are the well known dripping faucet, the hard to turn handle and the leaking faucet.
Applicant in co-pending application Ser. No. 629,774 filed July 11, 1984, , abandoned disclosed an invention that improved the disc-type valve cartridge used in valves to render it independent of the valve housings normally required for such disc-type valve cartridges. The provisions and discussions of that co-pending application are incorporated herein by reference.
Generally, prior art disc-type valve cartridges required a valve housing that had fixed within it a mating portion for the lower end of the valve cartridge. This mating portion was located in a standard position and conformed to prescribed tolerances. Theoretically, this method of piecemeal manufacturing would produce a workable faucet. However, this construction has shown over the years to be unforgiving of natural and inescapable variations in construction that occur in manufacturing items in quantity. It is virtually impossible in such faucets to correct or adjust a misalignment in the way a valve cartridge would mate with the valve housing. Thus, the ability of a service individual to correct a leaking faucet, or adjust the tension in the faucet handle was at best severely limited. In other words, once the valve housing and valve cartridge were made, little or no further adjustment could be made to either to provide for a better internal fit of the two components.
Applicant in the above cited co-pending application taught an invention that would permit independent adjustment of the valve cartridge independent of the valve housing.
In the present application, Applicant discloses an invention that provides for a housing assembly that will not inhibit adjustment of the valve cartridge being held therein.